Acoger Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of acoger — “to welcome, to host” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for acoger with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Acoger means to welcome or to host, to receive someone warmly into your home, your city or your organisation. It is used for guests, refugees and new students, and it is a spelling-change verb: g becomes j before o and a. It is a spelling-change verb (g becomes j before e), but the present tense itself is regular — the spelling change shows up in the subjunctive and the preterite. To see it in a real sentence: Acojo a los invitados en su casa. — “I welcome the guests in my house.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of acoger will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: acoger
Every person of acoger in the present tense. The gerund is acogiendo and the past participle is acogido.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acojo |
| tú | acoges |
| él/ella/Ud. | acoge |
| nosotros/as | acogemos |
| vosotros/as | acogéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acogen |
How the present indicative of acoger is formed
The present indicative of acoger is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The stem in the present is acoj-, not acog-, so the first-person form is acojo. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | acojo |
| tú | -es | acoges |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | acoge |
| nosotros/as | -emos | acogemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | acogéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | acogen |
Acoger is a spelling-change verb. In the present tense the forms are regular, so the table above follows the normal -er endings. The spelling change appears when the ending starts with e: the present subjunctive is acoja and the preterite first person is acogí. The sound stays the same; only the spelling changes to keep it.
The gerund of acoger is acogiendo and the past participle is acogido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of acoger
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and acoger appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and acoger fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo acojo a los invitados en su casa todos los días.” — “I welcome the guests in my house every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él acoge a los refugiados en la ciudad.” — “He/she welcomes the refugees in the city.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so acojo can mean both “I welcome” and “I am welcomeing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo acojo al estudiante nuevo en clase.” — “Right now, I welcome the new student in class.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo acojo al viajero con los brazos abiertos.” — “Tomorrow, I will welcome the traveller with open arms.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú acoges a los invitados en su casa?” — “Do you welcome the guests in my house?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Acoge a los refugiados en la ciudad. — “He/she welcomes the refugees in the city.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Acogió a los refugiados en la ciudad. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Acogen al estudiante nuevo en clase. — “They welcome the new student in class.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Acogían al estudiante nuevo en clase. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Acoges al viajero con los brazos abiertos. — “You welcome the traveller with open arms.”
- Future — what will happen: Acogerás al viajero con los brazos abiertos. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: acoger in the present tense
Seven sentences that show acoger in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo acojo a los invitados en su casa. — “I welcome the guests in my house.”
- Tú acoges a los refugiados en la ciudad. — “You welcome the refugees in the city.”
- Él acoge al estudiante nuevo en clase. — “He welcomes the new student in class.”
- Nosotros acogemos al viajero con los brazos abiertos. — “We welcome the traveller with open arms.”
- Vosotros acogéis a los invitados en su casa. — “You (plural) welcome the guests in my house.”
- Ellos acogen a los refugiados en la ciudad. — “They welcome the refugees in the city.”
- ¿Tú acoges al estudiante nuevo en clase? — “Do you welcome the new student in class?”
Common mistakes with acoger in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with acoger in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo acoger a los invitados en su casa. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo acojo a los invitados en su casa.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of acoger is acojo, not the infinitive acoger.
✗ Vosotros acogeis a los invitados en su casa. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros acogéis a los invitados en su casa.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: acogéis, not acogeis. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo acojo a los refugiados en la ciudad. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo acogí a los refugiados en la ciudad.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: acojo is happening now, while acogí is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating acoger and recibir as identical in every context. (confusing acoger with recibir).
✓ Correct: Acoger means to welcome, to host, while recibir means to receive.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: acoger fits sentences such as Acojo a los invitados en su casa, while recibir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: acoger in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of acoger. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of acoger for tú?
- a) acoges
- b) acojo
- c) acoge
- d) acogen
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a los invitados en su casa. — “I welcome the guests in my house.”
- a) acoge
- b) acogemos
- c) acoges
- d) acojo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a los refugiados en la ciudad. — “He/she welcomes the refugees in the city.” (present tense)
- a) acogía
- b) acogerá
- c) acoge
- d) acogió
4. Which is the correct present tense form of acoger for nosotros?
- a) acogen
- b) acogemos
- c) acojo
- d) acoge
5. Which sentence uses acoger correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él acogió a los refugiados en la ciudad.
- b) Él acoge a los refugiados en la ciudad.
- c) Él acogerá a los refugiados en la ciudad.
- d) Ellos acoge a los refugiados en la ciudad.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ al estudiante nuevo en clase. — “They welcome the new student in class.”
- a) acojo
- b) acoge
- c) acogemos
- d) acogen
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ al viajero con los brazos abiertos? — “Do you welcome the traveller with open arms?”
- a) acoge
- b) acogerás
- c) acoges
- d) acojo
8. What is the gerund of acoger?
- a) acogí
- b) acogiendo
- c) acogido
- d) acojo
Answer key
a) acoges — The tú form is acoges. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; acojo is yo, acoge is él/ella and acogen is ellos/ellas.
d) acojo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: acojo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) acoge — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: acoge. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) acogemos — Nosotros takes acogemos. In the present the nosotros ending for -er verbs is -emos, attached to the stem.
b) Él acoge a los refugiados en la ciudad. — Él acoge a los refugiados en la ciudad. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) acogen — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is acogen.
c) acoges — The question needs the tú form in the present: acoges.
b) acogiendo — The gerund is acogiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle acogido.
Frequently asked questions
Is acoger regular in the present tense?
Yes. Acoger is a regular -er verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: acojo, acoges, acoge, acogemos, acogéis and acogen.
What is the gerund and the past participle of acoger?
The gerund is acogiendo and the past participle is acogido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I welcome” in Spanish?
Say acojo. For example: Acojo a los invitados en su casa. — “I welcome the guests in my house.”
What is the difference between acoger and recibir?
Acoger means “to welcome, to host”, while recibir means “to receive”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use acoger when you mean “to welcome, to host” and recibir when you mean “to receive”. The full conjugation of acoger is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of acoger — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- acoger examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where this verb's pattern is listed.
- Acometer conjugation — another -er verb to compare with acoger.
- Absorber conjugation — another -er verb to compare with acoger.
- Ceder conjugation — another -er verb to compare with acoger.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.